Branch Transformation is Easy by Glory Ireland

Branch Transformation is easy – start with better staff utilisation

Transformation

Branch Transformation drivers are so well known now that we should all be able to quote them in our sleep. For example, digital activity places pressure on transaction volumes, leads to less footfall and therefore – unprofitable branches. But is that really the case? Haven’t branches always operated successfully based on making the most of the customer activity, proactively making their own business when they don’t have any customer activity?

Branches are simple. Staff come in. They open up. If customers come in, staff speak to them and business is generated. If customers don’t come in, staff get on the phone and generate business. As long as they have sufficient conversations, converting enough of these to sales to cover operating costs, the branch makes a profit. It’s not rocket science!

New branch transformation trends cite being focused on “deeper conversations” and “engagement”. Yet for experienced branch managers, using their tellers and personal bankers to make this happen has been the basic rule for the past decades. Many of them have been incredibly successful at it, pioneering ‘omni-channel engagement’ by speaking to their customers on the telephone if they weren’t able to make it to the branch, well after the clock passed

Making the most of your staff – Doesn’t need technology overload

As we progress through the inevitable technology curves, that revolutionise and scale how we affect branch transformation, it’s clear that customers still use teller services – otherwise we would not be trying to emulate them using self-service. In well managed branches, tellers have been the drivers of successful branch revenue generation since the 80’s, being almost completely responsible for effective first contact (whether face to face or answering the phone). Through good management they routinely:

Sell low complexity financial solutions there and then at the counter (yes. Tellers are sellers. Ask any branch manager).

Reactively and reliably execute effective customer handover to the right sales specialists.

Proactively get customer agreement to discuss higher value services and products with specialists.

We have never paid tellers to be just costly, cash handling service staff – read any job advert from the 80’s onwards and you’ll see that.

So, if all we needed to make a profit is a well-managed teller, what’s the downside? Cash management? Even though their primary focus is customer management, they still need to absorb cash, cheque and coin handling into their daily routines. Like any multi-skilled job, there is a risk if you get it wrong – one large error in a day, can remove all the targeted daily revenue of the entire teller line in the branch. In addition, staff with a natural aptitude for customer management can find themselves out of a job if they cannot get their cash handling accuracy under control.

Help your tellers be their best – automate the risky part of their job

Securing cash, counting it, dispensing it, balancing it and posting the entries to the customers’ accounts is a massive distraction to the sales process – and a major barrier to achieving the outsize revenue potential of the role. In so many cases, through weak branch management, these distractions have been allowed to become the primary role of the Teller, which in turn ultimately sees the branch profitability suffering, we know what happens next.

Yet automated tills have existed for the last 2 decades – teller cash and coin recyclers, which act as secure mini-vaults automatically accepting, dispensing, posting entries and balancing, completely remove the burden on your best front-line relationship teams. Ensuring that they can at last do the job they were brought in for. So why doesn’t every teller have one? The answer – imbalanced ROI models that rely purely on efficiency and cost management to justify the deployment of these simple, yet revolutionary devices to every teller position which then frees the teller to generate revenue.

How do you justify Teller Cash Recyclers? It’s simple, and it goes back to the 3 basic rules for running a profitable branch:

Customer Satisfaction – they improve the consumer experience – not just for customers, but crucially – for branch staff.

Generate Revenue – there is absolutely no limit to the revenue that a teller can generate – free them to speak with their customers, and it’s realistic for them to deliver 5-6 times their base cost every year.

A good branch manager will always understand that any incremental improvement to the staff experience, will ensure they generate more revenue. Teller Cash Recyclers, is where that begins.

How Can Glory Help you?

As world experts in branch teller cash recycling, Glory works in strategic partnership with customers to identify their exact needs, establishing a framework of technology and process change, to deliver a proven return on investment and drive new levels of efficiency, customer experience and branch profitability.

Operating across more than 100 countries, automating cash processing across the entire cash cycle is Glory’s core competence. We are independently acknowledged as market share leaders in Teller Cash Recyclers most recently by Retail Banking Research (RBR) in their Teller Automation and Branch Automation 2017 Report.

Glory’s TCR solutions are the catalyst to allow our customers to open up the branch, enabling bold new layouts and designs, whilst creating relaxed environments where improved service and interaction leads to increased revenues. Glory is dedicated to the efficient management, handling and flow of cash in your branches, so that your teams are free to deliver the very best experience to your customers